Broken Glass
by lucidreams
Summary: This story takes place after the events of War and Pieces. Cindy get's a night off before she's put back to work with a new partner as they investigate a new threat to Fabletown. Rated M for later chapters. Suggestions and feedback appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

"So Geppetto joins Fabletown and all is honkey-dory?"

Bigby gave Cinderella an amused, knowing look. "You think it's really that simple?" He asked the covert spy as the pair headed down the long winding staircase to the dungeons. To look at the apartment building on the outside, one would never imagine that there was a deep subterranean basement below holding some of the most sacred artifacts and dangerous prisoners of the fable kingdom. One of which was Baba Yuga, who Bigby would be questioning tonight. Cinderella was simply following along for the opportunity to have a private chat with her boss.

"The others think so", she retorted. "They're operating under the delusion that everything is going to alright from now on", Cindy added with a sweet smile before snorting in the most unladylike fashion. "When are they ever going get beyond that whole 'Happy ever after' crap?"

"Why should they? It's still possible".

Cinderella rolled her eyes. "I think marriage is making you soft Boss". Bigby grinned, his teeth sharpening and a feral gleam coming to his eyes. There was nothing soft about the former sheriff as his inner beast started to come through. Cindy wasn't frightened simply because she knew better but she had to admit Bigby could be intimidating when he wanted to be. "Then again..." Cinderella shrugged. The pair had reached the door leading into the dugeon. "Here's where we part ways. Are you going to tell her about Geppetto?" Bigby glanced at her but said nothing and gave no hint of his intentions. Cindy got the hint. "Okay, I don't need to know. You're sure there's nothing I can do tonight though?"

"Not tonight but where will you be? Just in case I change my mind".

"Branstock Tavern".

"Ah, going out to celebrate our victory huh?" Bigby asked with an amused look.

"Nope, going to drown my sorrows", Cindy replied as she turned to head up the stairs once more.

"Cheer up. We won".

"For now", Cindy said darkly as she looked back over her shoulder.

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**Branstock Tavern, 9pm.**

The favoured location for Fables who were looking to wet their whistle or get shit faced drunk. Tonight it was packed with various Fables who were celebrating the defeat of the Adversary. Cindy spotted a few familiar faces as she pushed her way through the crowd till she reached the bar. "Martini" she ordered, putting her money down and snagging an empty stool.

"That seat's taken", a voice spoke beside her. The blond turned and recognized Kay.

"You're right. I've taken it", she replied smartly as the bartender handed her the drink, which was quickly downed and soon replaced with another. The noise in the bar was obnoxious but the spy tried to block out the others as she quickly worked her way through her drinks. After the fourth one, she spoke again to Kay. "What are you doing here? I thought you hated crowds".

"I do but everyone else is celebrating. Would have looked strange if I didn't join in. I see you're in a celebrating mood", he added pointedly as he looked at the surrounding empty glasses. It was hard to tell what sort of look he had since the Fable always wore his sunglasses but his tone showed disapproval.

"Screw you. I've earned the right to have a mind-splitting hangover tomorrow", Cindy retorted as she motioned the bartender over. "Two wallbangers for me and my friend here", she ordered, putting her arm around Kay, though he quickly squirmed away from.

"I'm not your friend".

"You're not anyone's friend but for tonight let's pretend huh?" Cindy replied, her words starting to slur. "It must have been hard being in the room with Geppetto tonight", she said as a way to change the conversation. "To look at him and know his sins".

If Kay was surprised that Cindy knew of his condition or that the seemingly blind man had his eyes once more, he didn't show it. He had too many years of practicing in hiding such emotions. Instead, he flatly replied, "It's just as hard to look at you and know your sins".

Cindy was about to take a sip of her drink but stopped and looked at Kay. "Are you judging me asshole? The only 'sins' I've ever committed where for the good of Fabletown".

"Of course", Kay said flatly as he rose from his stool, leaving the wallbanger untouched.

"Asshole", Cindy muttered as she watched the back of the dark haired man disappear through the crowd. "Screw him, that's what I get for tryin' to be friendly. Hey Ephram! Wanna drink?" Cindy called out, holding up the abandoned drink as she offered it to one of the Crow brothers.

Unlike Kay, Ephram wasn't one to turn down a free drink.

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**Cindy's Apartment, 11 am.**

The shrill ringtone of Cindy's cell phone served as her wake up call the next morning. The blond spy groaned as she rolled over. One arm was slung over her eyes in a desperate attempt to keep the sunlight out, another flopped over the side of the bed and another rested on her stomach. _Wait a minute...somethings not right_, the very drowsy, very hung over Cinderella thought as she moved her arm and looked down. The extra arm was tan and muscular and belonged to Ephram Crow. _Figures. That's one mystery solved. Now I just to figure out where my fucking phone is and I'll be in business._.

After ten rings and giving Ephram a shove out of her bed, Cindy finally found her phone tangled up in the blankets. The blond quickly flipped it open and said, "Hello?"

"Where the hell are you? How come your phone was ringing for so long?"

"How come you didn't just leave a message?"

"..."

"I mean, hello Bigby. What can I do for you this morning?"

"What you can do is tell you visitor to go home and get your ass down to the lobby".

"You don't miss a thing, do you?"

"I'll see you in five minutes".


	2. Chapter 2

**Woodlands Apartments, Fabletown 11:07am**.

To say Cindy was not looking her best would be a gross understatement but with such short notice, who could blame her? Her hair was up in an untidy pony tail and she was wearing jeans, Ephram's t-shirt (which he left behind in the frenzied hurry), and a pair of canvas sneakers. She sure as hell didn't look like a world class Fabletown super-spy, scourge of the adversary. That was actually a good thing in Cindy's opinion. People who believed that the best spies where high class, polished James Bond wannabes were sadly mistaken. What better way was there to blend in than to completely mundane and shitty? People were far more willing to ignore unattractive sorts during their day to day lives so it could be handy disguise on occasion.

Not that Cindy was thinking clearly for that sort of ruse this morning. Instead, she was wondering how long this briefing was going to be and whether she could snag a cup of coffee. The blond trudged down the stairs to the lobby. "This better be the end of the world Bigby if you're calling me this early. Did Geppetto go batshit yet?"

Bigby glanced at Cindy, unimpressed with her exaggeration. "Yet? The wood carver is well past that stage Cinderella. You're late."

Cindy's eyes flickered to the large clock in the lobby before giving the former sheriff a disgusted look. "By two minutes. You are not busting my ass for two minutes".

"In our business, time matters. It only takes a minute for a plan to be foiled. It only takes a few seconds to kill someone", Bigby noted.

The blond sighed. Bigby could be annoying when he was right. "You would know", she muttered.

"So would you".

Cinderella's allowed herself a small smile as she regarded her boss with amusement. That was practically high praise coming from Bigby, if he was admitting she's was equally deadly.

"Of course, you're no wolf..."

_Of course_, Cindy thought as she rolled her eyes. Bigby might trust her but there were still some areas he thought he was better at. 'Course, he was right again but Cindy decided not to dignify that with a response. "So why did you haul me out of my comfy bed? And why are we meeting here? It's not exactly private", she added as she eyed Grimble. The security guard might appear to be sleeping but Cindy knew the old troll was a nosy bastard so it was probably a ruse.

"We're waiting for our third party and then we'll meet Beast in his office".

Immediately Cindy was curious but that curiosity was quickly put to rest when Kay walked through the door. "Oh boy", the blond muttered to Bigby as she turned to watch the pale man approach them. "Mister Sunshine is here".

"Be nice", Bigby muttered back with a grin on his lips.

"Not on your life".

"I can hear you", Kay said in an annoyed voice. "I have been blind most of my life so my hearing is impeccable".

It was hard to not laugh or roll her eyes at Kay but Cindy managed. It wasn't too surprising that Kay was the third party, given his recent involvement with discovering the treacherous John, who rumour had it, had since redeemed himself in Haven. Still, she wondered why Kay was here now and how it would affect her next mission.

She never imagined it would turn out to be the deciding factor.

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**Beast's office at Woodlands apartments, 11:45am**

"Are you out of your fucking mind? Did Snow give you a lobotomy in your sleep?"

"Do you have to yell?" Bigby retorted, wincing at her shrill tone. Having heightened senses could have its downsides.

"It's really a good plan", Beast assured her.

As he had throughout the meeting, Kay kept his mouth shut. Unbeknownst to other three Fables, he was in torment and had the strong urge to up and run out of the office. The only thing he wanted right now was to be as far away as possible from Bigby, Beast and Cinderella. Each of the three had a dark, bloodstained past that Kay had unfortunately been privy to throughout the meeting. He had already seen most of it in past meetings with each of them but that was one on one. To have so many horrible sights coming at him all at once was nearly unbearable. Being there when Geppetto had signed the treaty with all the other important fable officials had been torture.

"Good plan? No, a good plan would be me doing this on my own. I don't need a fucking partner! Especially not some rookie who's never been outside of New York and spent most of his life holed up in a basement with his eyes gouged out!" Cindy was absolutely livid at the idea and couldn't believe her boss had even let it cross his mind.

"You'll need his talents for this mission Cindy. End of story. You both know what you have to do now stop complaining and do your job". Bigby expression was stern as he stared down his top agent. Cinderella was all too familiar with _that_ look and shut her mouth tightly, frowning back at her boss. She would do as she was told but by god she wasn't going to act happy about it.

Kay was rather glad the yelling had stopped and looked at Bigby. He tried not to grimace as the monster stared back at him. "Where is Hansel now?"

"Germany. After his knees healed, he got the first flight out of Santiago to London and from there to Berlin and then we lost track of him", Beast answered. "Frau thinks he is being cloaked by magic".

That got Cinderella's attention as she broke off the staring contest she and Bigby were having. "Geppetto's sorcerer's maybe?" She suggested.

"No. They incapacitated thanks to Sleeping Beauty. I think it's someone new, perhaps someone Geppetto put here to spy on the European Fables", Bigby answered gruffly with a shake of his head.

"Wonderful", Cindy droned as she silently wished she had stayed in bed. The spy usually loved being in the field and lived for her job but she was not looking forward to having someone else tagging along for her adventures. "When do we leave?"

"Your flight leaves JFK international at 6:10pm".

"Please god, tell me it's direct and business class at the very least", Cindy said as she mentally ticked off all the things she'd need for the trip. _Clothes, shoes, 9mm Glock...hmmm, should I take the P99 instead?_

"Actually, I was feeling incredibly generous when I booked the tickets", Bigby grinned. "You're in first class".

Cinderella smiled with relief and said mockingly, "My hero".


	3. Chapter 3

**J.F.K International, 5:10pm**

Kay detested the airport.

Honestly, he detested public places in general but tonight there many, many other places he would rather be than stuck in a hard plastic chair, watching crowds of people pass by. Where others simply saw crowds of tired, stressed passengers, Kay saw sinners, liars, and truly ugly souls. He knew who had cheated on their partners while away, who was wishing the odd screaming child would just the hell up, who was thinking the worst about the person next to them. He saw the decay of the building, the bodies. Every ugly feature was magnified under Kay's eyes so that it was the only thing he could focus on.

Kay was seriously considering gouging his eyes out once more. If anything, at least he wouldn't have to look at Cinderella anymore.

It wasn't a matter of attractiveness for Kay knew that Cinderella was no doubt good looking, even if he couldn't see it. She was one of Prince Charming's ex-wives after all. One didn't marry a prince if they were an ugly hag, especially not in his world. No, Kay simply didn't want to have to look at Cinderella and see all the people she had killed.

"One more hour", Cindy sighed as she glanced at Kay. "You want to get something to eat before we have to board?" They were waiting near the departure terminals and she had been eyeing a food stand for a while. Kay glanced at the place, shuddered and shook his head. "Jesus christ, you're not seeing slaughtered cows are you?" Cindy asked in a low voice before glancing back at the stand with a slightly disgusted look. "Or do they do shit to the food?"

"I'm not hungry".

"I am, so let's go".

It was Kay's turn to sigh as he looked down at the floor. It was covered in dirt in his eyes. "You can go by yourself".

"Aw, c'mon. I thought partners were suppose to do shit together. Bond and all that kinda crap", Cindy said in a mock cheerful voice.

"Over food?" Kay asked incredulously. "Earlier today you didn't even want a partner. Just go by yourself!"

All cheerful pretences were dropped and Cindy spoke flatly. "I've got orders not to leave you on your own. Now that means if I want to go get food, you have to come with me. If I go to the bathroom, you have to go with me. Got that?"

He glared at her, unable to help himself but one look was enough to make Kay turn his gaze back to the ground. "Why?"

"Because we still have enemies out there and you don't know how to protect yourself. You're a liability".

"And you're playing body-guard", he added sarcastically.

"Yes and you're in my safe, capable hands".

_Hands that once gouged out the eyes of a hitman_, Kay thought as he looked at Cindy's fingers. "I feel better already", he muttered flatly but the dark haired man rose from the seat anyway. He wasn't in mood to argue anymore and decided that it would just be easier to go along with Cinderella. Hell, the quicker he could get this mission over, the better.

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**Flight 247, 6:43 pm**

Over the last hour and a half, the mismatched pair boarded their flight. Cindy had attempted to make conversation throughout the wait and the boarding time but had little success as Kay rarely gave more than a one-word answer to her questions. She was ready to give up as they strapped themselves into their seats when Kay surprised her by finally asking a question.

"Where are the exits?"

"You're not getting off the plane Kay. We have our orders", she whispered back to him so that stewardess passing nearby didn't overhear. Using the words 'mission' and 'orders' on an airplane would probably just result in a panic with the way airport security was these days.

Kay shook his head, clearly frustrated. "I'm not thinking of running off. I want to know for when the plane crashes".

Cindy stared at him for a few seconds before rolling her eyes. "The plane is not going to crash".

"You know that for a fact, do you?" Kay asked through gritted teeth.

The blond turned away from the worried man and casually opened an in-flight magazine. "Do you know for a fact that it's going to happen?"

"There is an average of thirty-six plane crashes per year in the US".

She stopped reading and fought the sudden urge to laugh. "I see. Been doing some research on Wikipedia, have you?"

"No, the National Transportation and Safety Bureau website".

"At least that's more credible. You know, you're more likely to die in a car crash than a plane crash Kay", Cindy replied with a sigh, closing her magazine and looking at him. Kay kept his eyes straight ahead.

"That's why I walk everywhere". On principle Kay avoided anything he considered dangerous...well, as much as he could avoid it. Being a Fable and a member of Fabletown did mean that he occasionally had to deal with dangerous people or do things that he considered dangerous. For the most part however, Kay lived a very simple, very safe life by keeping to himself and staying in his apartment.

"So you're afraid of cars and you're afraid of flying. Any other phobias I should know before we get to Berlin? Spiders? Dogs? Heights? German accents?" It was impossible to keep the amusement out of her voice but at least Cindy managed to keep her tone soft and low so only Kay could hear her. _Save him a little embarrassment at least_. He didn't answer her so Cindy looked away, glancing at the passengers sitting in the next aisle. Once she had looked over the first class cabin for any familiar or suspicious faces, Cindy returned her attention to Kay. "Do you want me to hold your hand when we take off?" she offered nicely. Cindy wasn't an outright bitch after all, despite what some other Fables or her ex-husband might have said and a part of her felt sorry for Kay.

"Don't patronize me!" he hissed back.

_Well, screw feeling sorry for you _, she thought before speaking again. "Alright, fine. Just try not to panic when we take off". Just then the intercom went off and the flight attendant advised everyone to buckle up as they prepared to take flight. Having travelled by plane many times in the past, Cindy was use to wobbly sensation and the feel of the plane picking up speed but it wasn't hard to see that Kay was nervous as his breathing increased. She could only imagine what his heart rate was doing. _Good thing we don't have to jump from the plane_, the blond spy thought. Kay probably would have pissed himself or had a heart attack if had been forced to come along on Cindy's mission to the Cloud kingdom.

The plane lifted off the ground and Kay's hand suddenly clutched at Cindy's hand on the armrest. She kept her comments to herself and simply held his hand as they took flight.

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**Flight 247, 11:45pm**

After five hours into the flight, Kay had managed to relax a little and had read a book to distract himself from his fear of flying while Cindy watched the in-flight movie. As long as he didn't think too hard about the fact that they were flying over the Atlantic at height of 30,000 feet, he would be okay. The same could be said for the fact that he had grabbed Cinderella's hand. Kay was determined to ignore that one moment of weakness and thankfully, Cinderella had chosen to keep her mouth shut on the subject, something that surprised Kay.

In their short time together, he had learned at least two new facts about Cinderella. One, she really, really liked to talk and two, she enjoyed teasing people. It seemed like any opportunity she got to make a snarky comment, rib him on his habits or simply to embarrass him, Cinderella quickly took advantage of. He only hoped that he could make it through this mission without blowing up at the blond.

The movie was finally over and the lights were dimmed in the cabin as more passengers settled into their seats to sleep. Kay had no intention of sleeping, knowing that there was not possible for him to relax long enough to let sleep come over him. Cinderella had already drifted off and was deep in sleep, her body shifting to the left and her head resting against his shoulder at an awkward angle. It crossed his mind to simply shrug her off and end the uncomfortable physical contact but as Cinderella had held his hand, Kay chose to let her rest her head.

Strangely enough, it made him think of Gerda.


End file.
